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Loft soaking wet from condensation - help!
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isofa
Posts: 6,091 Forumite
We have a pitched apex roof, on a reasonably sized house, insulated, and 3/4 boarded, there is a gap all around the edges to let air come in from the eaves. The uPVC fascias have small circular vents every so often along the runs, and you can feel a slight draft.
There are quite a lot of boxes and stuff up their, but distributed around, no insulation under the water tanks, and none above the loft hatch either.
All the rooms below are heated.
A few weeks ago, the felt underside (whatever the material is above the rafters, below the tiles, it's black, hard and quite brittle) inside was soaking wet with condensation, I mopped it all, let some air up, put a fan up etc - and seemed to dry ok in 2-3 days, I made sure the air gap was all around the eaves correctly, moved some insulation just to make sure and it eventually dried, as I assumed that might have exacerbated the issue.
It's been -4 here over the past few days. Just before the weather turned very cold, a few days ago it was dry up there, but checked this morning and it's soaking wet again, felt underside is covered in condensation between the rafters, which is dripping gently onto everything, puddles in places on boxes storing stuff.
Virtually exclusively the wet is on the side which gets no sun in the winter, the side facing the sun, is dry, and it does get cold here in the winter! It's also been very still here, no wind for days and days.
I'm obviously worried and need ideas and advice, I've mopped a lot up this morning, but it's dripping over everything again.
I assume it's a ventilation issue - we have a shower, but this is vented with an extractor fan and also we always have the window open until the room is dry. The boiler is downstairs and the exhaust flue is on the ground level, no where near the upstairs, let alone the loft.
There are quite a lot of boxes and stuff up their, but distributed around, no insulation under the water tanks, and none above the loft hatch either.
All the rooms below are heated.
A few weeks ago, the felt underside (whatever the material is above the rafters, below the tiles, it's black, hard and quite brittle) inside was soaking wet with condensation, I mopped it all, let some air up, put a fan up etc - and seemed to dry ok in 2-3 days, I made sure the air gap was all around the eaves correctly, moved some insulation just to make sure and it eventually dried, as I assumed that might have exacerbated the issue.
It's been -4 here over the past few days. Just before the weather turned very cold, a few days ago it was dry up there, but checked this morning and it's soaking wet again, felt underside is covered in condensation between the rafters, which is dripping gently onto everything, puddles in places on boxes storing stuff.
Virtually exclusively the wet is on the side which gets no sun in the winter, the side facing the sun, is dry, and it does get cold here in the winter! It's also been very still here, no wind for days and days.
I'm obviously worried and need ideas and advice, I've mopped a lot up this morning, but it's dripping over everything again.
I assume it's a ventilation issue - we have a shower, but this is vented with an extractor fan and also we always have the window open until the room is dry. The boiler is downstairs and the exhaust flue is on the ground level, no where near the upstairs, let alone the loft.
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Comments
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I have the same problem - in my loft its a combination of cold temps and no wind.
It clears up in a few days if its windy0 -
Oddly enough I have noticed the same thing today, not quite as bad as yours by the sound of it. I just put it down to the very cold weather we're having.
I might put a bit of extra insulation up this year to reduce warm air getting up there... otherwise I'm not sure there is much you can do to stop it really.
By the way, you should really insulate your water tank and lag your pipes, it's very cheap to do and you might regret not doing it one day...0 -
Mine has been the same. Remember its been very damp over the past few years, and with our climate its inevitable. I put a small heater in the loft and it has helped.0
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Well at least I'm not the only one! I've had a fan up there all day and it's made no difference, I've mopped a lot up, gone through reels of kitchen roll.
I'm sure something can be done re ventilation, this surely is only happening because there isn't enough airflow?
I don't think any of us should just leave it as is, damp will cause a problem long term, from mould to potential issues with the roof, timbers and all sorts. A small bit of condensation is I guess one of those things in extreme conditions, but anything more, can't be right... Are there any roofing experts or builders here with knowledge of this issue?
The ideal of loft insulation is to keep heat escaping from the rooms below, but the roof space itself should be cool and have a draft airflow, without this you get all sorts of problems.
(The Governor: The water tank and pipes are insulated, but you should always ensure there is no insulation between the water tank and the ceiling below otherwise it may freeze in the winter! Warm air must be allowed to rise through the ceiling to below the water tank.)0 -
Im a Joiner and been in the building trade for 20 odd years. You could try ridge vents. This is the reason soffit vents are used, to allow air circulation. It has been really bad this year, basically because of the cold and damp weather we have.
Im in rented accomodation so not bothered by mine, as the heater is doing the trick. I was more concerned with the stuff getting ruined. So bought 10 plastic boxes with lids and put everything in them.0 -
(The Governor: The water tank and pipes are insulated, but you should always ensure there is no insulation between the water tank and the ceiling below otherwise it may freeze in the winter! Warm air must be allowed to rise through the ceiling to below the water tank.)
Sorry I misread your post and thought it said "the water tank isn't insulated", but thanks for the tip, I'll double check mine... :beer:0 -
As sodamnfunky says the best way to overcome this would be to fit ridge vents too. Your eaves vents will provide a crossflow when it is windy outside, but when it is still there will be no movement in the roof void.
Ridge vents will allow any warmer air to rise up and create movement which will then pull fresh air through the eaves vents. You need a minimum air speed of 0.1 m/s to prevent condensation forming.0 -
sodamnfunky wrote: »Im a Joiner and been in the building trade for 20 odd years. You could try ridge vents. This is the reason soffit vents are used, to allow air circulation. It has been really bad this year, basically because of the cold and damp weather we have.
Im in rented accomodation so not bothered by mine, as the heater is doing the trick. I was more concerned with the stuff getting ruined. So bought 10 plastic boxes with lids and put everything in them.
Thanks sodamnfunky (and Porky996T), v interesting. I don't think the soffit vents are enough on our roof, there are only a handful of circular ones, I think a continous grill run would be better, I'm sure before they were replaced with uPVC that is how they were setup.
(A few years ago we had a huge wasps nest, I assume they got in via the soffit vents!)
This site recommends not adding tile vents in general, recommending a slot/grill instead: http://www.roofconsult.co.uk/articles/tiling/tips28.htm
I assume ridge vents are tiles with a vent which stand proud of the roof?
Whereas Lapvent, looks an ideal solution: http://www.lapvent.co.uk/
I've spent most of the day mopping the roof, and repacking soaking wet cardboard boxes, so I do really need to get this fixed! I've also ensured that there is a good eaves gap all the way around, but it is completely still here, no wind and therefore no draft at all.0 -
Hi
I am having the same problem, all of the joists and loft boards are wet and moist and I am really worried about it. There are pools of water all over the loft space. At the eaves there is a huge amount of water dripping and some of it is ice.
I have put extra lagging down however it seems to have made it worse. I have not insulated the loft hatch, should I ? and the bathroom has sunken spotlights, however I assume the steam gets into the loft as well ?
I have two air vents, however I think I need more, any easy way to get this done.
The felt on the tiles in the loft are dripping wet.
Any help would be highly appreciated.
Thanks0 -
we used to have this and we were told it was due to circulation of air as we had rather a lot of stuff up there - silly me thought it was good free insulation.
anyhow - got rid of tons of rubbish - amazing what we keep isnt it. and the problem did improve.
good luckEleventh Heaven no 710 - we can all dream0
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